Left and right trip dogs for carrier tracks

ABSTRACT

A universal trip dog in the sense that it may be mounted to either the right or left side of a carrier track and still position a lever contact face for engaging a trip lever during relative movement between the carrier and the trip lever. The dog is preferably in the configuration of a truncated pyramid in which the angular sides correspond to two trip contact faces, one of the sides having locking keys which flank a mounting passageway through the body of the trip dog. The locking keys have top and bottom rectilinear sides so that such keys can be inserted into a track or groove which is either on the right or left side of a carrier. The same side of the trip dog is abutted against the carrier, but said trip dog is simply rotated 180* so that one contact face is always correctly oriented for actuating a trip lever during relative movement.

Anderson Feb. 5, 1974 LEFT AND RIGHT TRIP DOGS FOR CARRIER TRACKS [76]Inventor: Clarence Anderson, 7813 W.

Carmen Ave., Chicago, 111. 60656 [22] Filed: July 3, 1972 [21] Appl.No.: 268,715

[52] U.S. Cl 74/568 R [51] Int. Cl. F16h 53/00 [58] 'Field of Search74/568 R, 568 M, 568 T, 568 FS [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,842,946 7/1958 Butler 74/568 R X 3,173,308 3/1965 Wollenhauptet al 74/568 R 3,633,949 1/1972 Pfluger 74/568 R X PrimaryExamirierCharles J. Myhre Assistant E taminerF. D. Shoemaker Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Jack E. Dominik et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A universal trip dog in the sense that it may be mountedto either the right or left side of a carrier track and still position alever contact face for engaging a trip lever during relative movementbetween the carrier and the trip lever. The dog is preferably in theconfiguration of a truncated pyramid in which the angular sidescorrespond to two trip contact faces, one of the sides having lockingkeys which flank a mounting passageway through the body of the trip dog.The locking keys have top and bottom rectilinear sides so that such keyscan be inserted into a track or groove which is either on the right orleft side of a carrier. The same side of the trip dog is abutted againstthe carrier, but said trip dog is simply rotated 180 so that one contactface is always correctly oriented for actuating a trip lever duringrelative movement.

9 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures Patented Feb. 5, 1974 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Patented Feb. 5, 1974 3,789,695

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LEFT AND RIGHT TRIP DOGS FOR CARRIER TRACKS Thisinvention relates to a trip dog to be used in conjunction with a carrierhaving a track on each of two opposite sides so that said trip dog canbe selectively mounted on either side in correctly oriented position.The invention further relates to a trip dog of versatile construction sothat the same side of the same trip dog can be used for mounting toeither (side) of a carrier, and said trip dog is correctly positionablesimply by rotating the trip dog 180.

Removeable and mountable trip dogs are commonly positioned by engagingtracks of a carrier, such as a circular carrier having curvilineartracks or grooves on each of two opposite sides. Such circular carriersare used, for example, on Brown & Sharpe automatic screw machines,available under the trade designation Ultamatic, No. 2 and No. 3.Carriers with rectilinear tracks are used in other machines such ashydraulic milling machines with right and left side operations, as wellas hydraulic surface grinders set up for right and left side grinding.Such trip dogs are mounted and positioned so that an angular contactface may actuate a trip lever during relative movement between thecarrier and the trip lever. Conventionally, the carrier is moveable as,for example, by rotation of circular carriers in automatic screwmachines. The trip levers are conventionally actuated to engage clutchesor the like in th operation of the machine.

The prior art trip dogs used in such embodiments have a single angularcontact face which permits particular orientation either on the right oron the left side of the carrier. Such trip dogs have a mountingpassageway with locking keys positioned on each side of the passageway.The keys are in the form of lugs or bosses which extend beyond a face ofthe trip dog so that such keys can be inserted into the track or grooveof the car rier. A fastener such as a screw is then passed through thepassageway in the trip dog and through another passageway in thecarrier, or in the alternative, the fastener may have its enlarged headlocked in the horizontal portion of a generally T-shaped track. Forcircular carriers and tracks, the opposite sides of the locking keys areformed on a slight radius so. that such key may be accommodated withinthe annular track.

Such trip dogs are further conventionally provided with a greater areaabove the locking keys then below the locking keys. The greater areacorresponds to the part of the trip dog which has the lever contactface. These conventional trip dogs tend to become loosened duringoperation so that workers are often required to greatly tighten thefastener holding the trip dogs to the carrier. Such a tighteningprocedure has the unfortunate result of leading to carrier break'out, inwhich portions of the carrier defining the track are broken away. Thedisplacement of the trip dog in mounted position to the carrier is duein large part to limited surface area contact of the trip dog lever withthe side of the carrier. It will be evident, even from the foregoingdiscussion, that conventional trip dogs have limited applicability inthat they must be mounted either on the left or right hand side. Suchlimitation in use arises from providing a contact face which is orientedcorrectly only in relationship to one of the right or left hand sides.Further, such limited application is necessitated by forming lockingkeys with radii for circular carriers, which allow said keys to beinserted in carrier tracks having corresponding radial curvatures.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide new andimproved trip dogs to be used on either the right or the left side of acarrier.

Another important object of the present invention is a trip dog whichcan be mounted to either the right or the left side of a carrier havingeither rectilinear or curvilinear tracks, such trip dog having lockingkeys only on one side dimensioned for engaging the tracks on either sideof said particular carrier.

Still yet another important object of the invention is to provide tripdogs which do not require keys formed on a radius for such dogs designedto be used with circular carriers.

Yet still another important object of the invention is to provide a tripdog which provides greater surface area for clamping engagement to theside of a carrier when fastened, thereby eliminating the need forexcessive tightening forces which could lead to carrier break-out.

Yet another important object of the invention is a trip dog having theimproved features above identified, which additionally is provided withmeans for up and down adjustability relative to a track and a carrier,to thus provide more convenient means for correctly positioning the tripdog relative to the trip lever to be actuated.

The objects just stated are attained together with other non-statedobjects which, however, will become apparent from considering theinvention in the following disclosure, including drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective portional view of a trip assembly provided in amachine such as an automatic screw machine;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the improved trip dog shown mountedon a circular carrier of the type indicated on a reduced scale in theview of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the trip dogs and circular carriershown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the trip dogs taken along lines 4 4of FIG. 3 with parts removed for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5 5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment providedwith features of up and down adjustability, said trip dog shown somewhatschematically mounted to a track of a carrier;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7 7 of 7 FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an inside side elevational view of one part of the embodimentshown in foregoing FIGS. 6 and 7;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of a second part of the alternativeembodiment shown in the foregoing views of FIGS. 6 and 7; and

FIG. 10 is a,somewhat schematic perspective view of the improved tripdogs shown engaging rectilinear tracks in a carrier.

The use of the same numerals in the various views of the drawing willindicate a reference to the same constructions, parts or elements, asthe case may be.

The view of FIG. 1 is intended to show a portion of an automatic screwmachine, such as the Brown &

Sharpe Ultramatic No. 2 and No. 3. A control drum shown generally as 12is provided with settings for programing various machine functions. Sucha drum comprises a plurality of circular carriers such as 14 on whichdogs 16 are mounted for actuating electrical trip levers 18 which maycontrol means such as work deflection, acceleration, operation ofvarious attachments, or the like. A circular carrier 14a is shownpositioned by itself with its dog 16a mounted for actuation ofmechanical trip lever 20. The circular carriers are conventionallyprovided with graduations 22 on their perimeters to measure the rotationin terms of hundredths of a revolution.

Looking now at the views of FIG. 2 and 3, the circular carrier 14 ismounted to rotating shaft 24 by a key 26. This circular carrier has aright side 28 and an opposite left side 30, and each side is providedwith an annular track or groove 32 which is shown as having a generallyT-shaped configuration. A fastener or bolt 34 with an enlarged flat head36 is locked in the T-shaped groove by moving the head and the fastenerthrough T-shaped entries 38 in the perimeter of the circular carrler.

A trip dog shown generally as 40 is shown mounted on the left side 28 ofthe circular carrier, and a like trip dog shown generally as 42 is shownmounted on the opposite or right side 30 of the circular carrier. Acontact face 44 of the trip dog is correctly oriented to trip or actuatetrip lever 46 which is indicated as being mounted in a fixed position.The trip dog 42 on the left side is also shown correctly oriented sothat its contact face may trip or actuate a trip lever 46 shown inphantom in the view of FIG. 3.

The trip dog will be described in greater detail now, and referenceshould also be made to following FIGS. 4 and in considering such adescription. The trip lever dog is shown as having a unitary body 48having the configuration of a truncated pyramid. The body member has arear face 50 which corresponds to the base of the truncated pyramidconfiguration, and such body has contact faces 52 and 54 whichcorrespond to the angled sides of the truncated pyramid configuration. Atruncated portion 56, together with contact faces 52 and 54, comprisecollectively the lever engaging face 44.

The body member has a thickness defined by opposite sides 58 and 60. Amounting passageway 62 extends through the body and opens at the oppostesides 58, 60.

Only one of the sides 60 will abut the side of the right or the leftside of the carrier. The abutting side 60 is provided with locking keys64, one of said locking keys immediately adjoining rear face 50 and theother locking key immediately adjoining truncated face 56. The keys areformed with inner radii 66 to follow the circular mounting passageway62. The opposite outer ends 68 are straight to follow, respectively, therear face and the truncated face.

It will be evident that the illustrated trip dog is bilaterallysymmetrical along an axis through mounting passageway 62 whichintersects the front and rear faces. Such an axis may be referred to asa lateral, bilateral or a diametrical axis. It will also be seen thatsides 70 and 72 of the locking keys are parallel to such a diametricalaxis, thereby being substantially rectilinear sides. It is seen that thedistance between the rectilinear sides is substantially the same as thediameter of the mounting or diameter which is greater than the distancebetween the rectilinear sides 70, 72 of the locking keys. Forming such acounterbore removes any feathers, spurs or the like at the inner end 66of the keys. Forming the counterbore and removing such feathers or spurseliminates the problem of the keys binding within the tracks after thetightened fastener is loosened and the trip dog is removed.

The distance between the rectilinear sides of the keys are reducedsufficiently so that such keys can be inserted in a circular tracksuitably dimensioned for the locking key on the particular trip dogused. After insertion of the locking keys, the top rectilinear side 70will contact the top of the circular track generally at a junction withthe outer ends 68, and the lower rectilinear side 72 contact the bottomof the circular track generally at a junction with the radiused innerends 66. The contact may be only along the lower rectilinear side 72,with neither or only one of the top rectilinear sides in point contact.The same keys with the rectilinear top and bottom sides can be insertedin the particular grooves on either the right or left side of thecarrier. It will be seen that the area and configuartion of the clampingor abutting side 60 above the locking keys is the same as that below thelocking keys. This provides increased clamping area so that the trip dogmay be securely fastened without unduly tightening the fastener, therebyeliminating likelihood of carrier break-out.

The embodiment shown in following FIGS. 7 9 is a two-part trip dog withfeatures of up or down adjustability relative to the carrier track. Suchan embodiment provides quick and convenient means for adjusting the tripdog relative to the trip lever for desired tripping contact. One part isa larger body member 74 shown also in the shape of a truncated pyramid.This body part 74 is of relatively narrow width and has prebent contactfaces 76 and 78 which lie in planes normal to opposite sides 80 and 82.The rear edge 84 corresponds to the base of a truncated pyramid andtruncated face 86 corresponds to the truncated portion of such apyramid. Side 80 of the large body part may be viewed as the inside orthe side beyond which the prevent contact faces 76, 78 extend. Anelongated slot opening 88 extends to 80, 82, and a series of serrations90 are shown on each side of such a slot. A second smaller body part 92has a general triangular configuration. The second body part has angularfaces 94 and 96 which are complementary to the undersides of contactfaces 76, 78 so that up and down movement of the second body part isstopped by the undersides of the contact faces 76, 78. The rear face 98of the second body part is aligned generally with the rear edge 84 ofthe large body part. The second body part 92 has a thickness which isequal to the width of the contact faces 76, 78 of the larger body part74. The width of the second body part is defined by opposite sides, oneof which 100 abuts carrier 102, and the other side 104 which abuts side80 of the larger body part. Side 104 has a series of serrations 106 onopposite sides of a circular mounting passageway 108. Such serrationsare placed to contact serrations 90 on side 80 of the larger body partto increase frictional engagement for a more secure clamping of the twobody parts.

Side 100 of the second body part has spaced locking keys withrectilinear top side 110 and rectilinear bottom side 112, such lockingkeys being similar to those previously shown and described. Such lockingkeys are inserted in the generally T-shaped track or groove 114 of thecarrier 102. Side 104 of the second body part is provided withprojecting sliding lugs l 15 and 1 16. Such lugs have rectilinear sidesadjoining the serrations 106 so that such sides can engage thecorresponding sides of the elongated slot in up and down slidingmovement. The large body part 74 is moved up or down to desirablyposition a contact face next to a trip lever. The nut and bolt fastenerassembly 1 18 is then tightened against washer 120.

The view of FIG. shows an embodiment wherein trip dogs 128 and 130 aremounted in rectilinear tracks 132 and 134 of carrier 136. It will beseen that whether the track be circular or curvilinear, the same tripdog may be mounted on either the right or the left side by the simpleexpedient of rotating the dog 180 so that a contact face which was inposition to actuate a trip lever on one side is at the bottom on theother side in non-actuating position.

The claims of the invention are now presented, and their terms maybe'further understood by considering the views of the drawings in thelanguage of the specification.

What is claimed is:

1. A trip dog for a carrier having tracks on opposite sides, said tripdog being mountable in either of said tracks as a left or right trip dogfor actuating a trip lever in relative movement, including a body havingopposite sides,

a trip lever engaging face in planes which are normal to said oppositesides, and

a mounting passageway extending to the opposite sides of the body,

the trip lever engaging face having an inclined contact face to one sideof the passageway, and another inclined contact face to the other sideof the passageway, said contact faces being positioned in like mannerrelative to a transverse axis which bisects the engaging face, onelocking key adjacent the engaging face to one side of the mountingpassageway and another locking key adjacent the engaging face to theother side of the mounting passageway, said keys having rectilinearsides and said keys having a distance between such rectilinear sideswhich allow said keys to move in either carrier track so that the tripdog may be properly mounted to said carrier by a fastener passingthrough said mounting passageway, said properly positioned trip doghaving one contact face oriented to actuate said trip lever duringrelative movement.

2. A trip dog which includes the features of claim 1 above, wherein saidtrip dog is formed by a unitary body having said trip lever engagingface and a rear face extending between said body sides, said mountingpassageway being circular and extending to the opposite body sides, saidtransverse axis being coincidental with a diametrical axis of thecircular passageway which bisects the front and rear face, the lockingkeys being integrally formed only on one body side, one key beingadjacent to said trip lever engaging face and said other locking keybeing adjacent to said rear face of the body, and said rectilinear sidesbeing substantially parallel.

3. A trip dog which includes the features of claim 2 above wherein saidbody is bilaterally symmetrical along said diametrical axis.

4. A trip dog which includes the features of claim 3 above wherein saidbody has the configuration of a truncated pyramid with the angular sidesbeing said contact faces.

5. A trip dog which includes the features of claim 2 above, wherein saidkeys have opposite rectilinear sides, and which further includes acounterbore on said body side with locking keys, said counterbore havinga diameter greater than the distance between said rectilinear sides tothereby effectively prevent binding of the locking keys when mounted inthe carrier groove following tightening of the fasteners.

6. A trip dog which includes the features of claim 5 above, wherein saidtrip dog is a unitary body member having the configuration of atruncated pyramid, said lever contact faces corresponding to the angularsides of the pyramid, said contact faces extending between oppositesides of the body, the base of the pyramid corresponding to a rear faceof said body member, said passageway being circular and having adiameter no greater than the distance between the rectilinear sides ofthe locking keys, one of said locking keys being immediately adjacent tosaid rear face, and the other of said locking keys being immediatelyadjacent to a truncated portion of the lever engaging face, said bodymember having a shape and area along one of the rectilinear sides equalto the shape and area along the opposite rectilinear side.

7. A trip dog which includes the features of claim 1 above wherein saidmounting passageway is an elongated slot in said body, the long axiswhereof intersects the contact faces, and wherein said contact faces areprebent portions of the body lying in planes which are normal to theside of said body, and further including a reduced size second bodymember with opposite sides, said second body member having a secondmounting passageway and said locking keys being integrally formed onlyon one of said opposite sides of said second body member, and the otheropposite side of said second body member having an integrally formedsliding lug which is positionable and moveable in said elongated slot,whereby said body may be adjusted up and down relative to said carriertrack prior to tightening of fastener which mounts said trip dog to saidcarrier.

8. A trip dog lever which includes the features of claim 7 above whereinsaid body member is in the shape of a truncated pyramid, having atruncated portion substantially shorter than said contact faces, and arear edge which corresponds to the base of said pyramid, and said secondbody member having a substantially triangular configuration, the baseportion whereof is dimensioned to be aligned substantially with the rearedge of the body member, the angular sides of said second body membertriangular configuration dimensioned to lie flush against the undersidesof said body member contact faces when said second body member is movedto its extreme positions in the up and down directions, said second bodymember having a width between the opposite body sides which issubstantially equivalent to the width of the contact faces of said bodymember, the locking keys being on said second body member and extendingbeyond the contact faces to engage the groove of a carrier.

9. A trip dog which includes the features of claim 7 above wherein asecond body member side opposite the locking key side is slidableagainst the body member on which said contact faces are prebent, andrelatively slidable faces of the body member and the second body memberhaving a plurality of serrations along body contacting portions toincrease frictional engagement.

1. A trip dog for a carrier having tracks on opposite sides, said tripdog being mountable in either of said tracks as a left or right trip dogfor actuating a trip lever in relative movement, including a body havingopposite sides, a trip lever engaging face in planes which are normal tosaid opposite sides, and a mounting passageway extending to the oppositesides of the body, the trip lever engaging face having an inclinedcontact face to one side of the passageway, and another inclined contactface to the other side of the passageway, said contact faces beingpositioned in like manner relative to a transverse axis which bisectsthe engaging face, one locking key adjacent the engaging face to oneside of the mounting passageway and another locking key adjacent theengaging face to the other side of the mounting passageway, said keyshaving rectilinear sides and said keys having a distance between suchrectilinear sides which allow said keys to move in either carrier trackso that the trip dog may be properly mounted to said carrier by afastener passing through said mounting passageway, said properlypositioned trip dog having one contact face oriented to actuate saidtrip lever during relative movement.
 2. A trip dog which includes thefeatures of claim 1 above, wherein said trip dog is formed by a unitarybody having said trip lever engaging face and a rear face extendingbetween said body sides, said mounting passageway being circular andextending to the opposite body sides, said transverse axis beingcoincidental with a diametrical axis of the circular passageway whichbisects the front and rear face, the locking keys being integrallyformed only on one body side, one key being adjacent to said trip leverengaging face and said other locking key being adjacent to said rearface of the body, and said rectilinear sides being substantiallyparallel.
 3. A trip dog which includes the features of claim 2 abovewherein said body is bilaterally symmetrical along said diametricalaxis.
 4. A trip dog which includes the features of claim 3 above whereinsaid body has the configuration of a truncated pyramid with the angularsides being said contact faces.
 5. A trip dog which includes thefeatures of claim 2 above, wherein said keys have opposite rectilinearsides, and which further includes a counterbore on said body side withlocking keys, said counterbore having a diameter greater than thedistance between said rectilinear sides to thereby effectively preventbinding of the locking keys when mounted in the carrier groove followingtightening of the fasteners.
 6. A trip dog which includes the featuresof claim 5 above, wherein said trip dog is a unitary body member havingthe configuration of a truncated pyramid, said lever contact facescorresponding to the angular sides of the pyramid, said contact facesextending between opposite sides of the body, the base of the pyramidcorresponding to a rear face of said body member, said passageway beingcircular and having a diameter no greater than the distance between therectilinear sides of the locking keys, one of said locking keys beingimmediately adjacent to said rear face, and the other of said lockingkeys being immediately adjacent to a truncated portion of the leverengaging face, said body member having a shape and area along one of therectilinear sides equal to the shape and area along the oppositerectilinear side.
 7. A trip dog which includes the features of claim 1above wherein said mounting passageway is an elongated slot in saidbody, the long axis whereof intersects the contact faces, and whereinsaid contact faces are prebent portions of the body lying in planeswhich are normal to the side of said body, and further including areduced size second body member with opposite sides, said second bodymember having a second mounting passageway and said locking keys beingintegrally formed only on one of said opposite sides of said second bodymember, and the other opposite side of said second body member having anintegrally formed sliding lug which is positionable and moveable in saidelongated slot, whereby said body may be adjusted up and down relativeto said carrier track prior to tightening of fastener which mounts saidtrip dog to said carrier.
 8. A trip dog lever which includes thefeatures of claim 7 above wherein said body member is in the shape of atruncated pyramid, having a truncated portion substantially shorter thansaid contact faces, and a rear edge which corresponds to the base ofsaid pyramid, and said second body member having a substantiallytriangular configuration, the base portion whereof is dimensioned to bealigned substantially with the rear edge of the body member, the angularsides of said second body member triangular configuration dimensioned tolie flush against the undersides of said body member contact faces whensaid second body member is moved to its extreme positions in the up anddown directions, said second body member having a width between theopposite body sides which is substantially equivalent to the width ofthe contact faces of said body member, the locking keys being on saidsecond body member and extending beyond the contact faces to engage thegroove of a carrier.
 9. A trip dog which includes the features of claim7 above wherein a second body member side opposite the locking key sideis slidable against the body member on which said contact faces areprebent, and relatively slidable faces of the body member and the secondbody member having a plurality of serrations along body contactingportions to increase frictional engagement.